As a recently retired twenty-five year educator, I have come to believe there are three factors that must be in place for a school system to enjoy high rates of student achievement and they may not be what you think. Our children who have successful school experiences enjoy these thee common traits. First, students have a healthy birth to pre-Kindergarten experience. They are nurtured by family, caregivers and may have access to great preschool opportunities. As the first trait would imply, the child experiences a stable, nurturing family situation. Third, our successful students take part in stimulating extended day and year opportunities.
The “gap” in achievement, and in fact, in life outcomes occurs when these three things don’t happen for a child. More than any other organization, CIS fills those gaps. We know this because for every dollar you invest in CIS, the return-on-investment to society is over eleven dollars. I am humbled to be part of this board, supporting the boots on the ground work of our fine CIS Site Coordinators and support staff. I implore you to learn about CIS, make generous donations and spread the good word. Our kids in the Tri-Cities are worth it!